Car-seal.



UNITED STATES PATENT-I OFFICE.

WILLIAM KERR EDGAR, or IOLA, KANSAS.

CAR-SEAL.

0 all whom it may concern:

lie it known that I, WILLIAM K. EDGAR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Iola, in the county of Allen and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Car-Seal, of which the following is a speci-;

fication. a This invention relates to devices of that class employed for sealing railway freight cars.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a novel form of seal which may be made at much less expense than any of the car seals in commercial use and which cannot be tampered with without detection.

the necessity 'of employing any pressing tool or other implement. p

' A still further objectof the invention is to provide a 'novel form of seal which may be provided with data designating the name of the railroad, the name of the station at which the'bar was sealed, or such other in formation as may be desired.

With these and other objects in view as will more fully hereinafter appear,-the present invention consists incertain novel details of. construction and arrangement of parts, as will bevmore fully herinafter described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended; claims, it being understood that various changes in-the form, proportion, size and minor details of 'the structure may be made without departing from the split or sacrificingany of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings :'-Figure 1 is a perspect ve View of a carseal constructe'd in accordance with the invention, showing pin. Fig.-:-2 isa similar View of the seal detached and in its flat form before bending.

Fig. 3 is a'detail perspective View illustrat V ing a modified. form ofseal. Fig.4 is a similar view of the seal of Fig. .3 in the initial flatposition. Fig. 5 is a detailper spective view of the seal bent into the'form of a rectangle. Fig. 6 is a perspective View the same in place on the locking Specification of Letters Patent- 7 -Patellted Feb. 21,- 1911'- Application filed January 6, 1909; Serial H0. 470,972.

. illustrating a still] further modificatio of:

the invent-ion; I Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several-figures of the drawli-n-carrying outthe present'invention the seal 10 isformed of a strip of some suitable material, preferably soft iron or otherjmetal,

and these 'strips are provided with notches 11 which define the ebending points. The

seals are supplied to the other oflicers and as they varePi the flat form shown in F ig. 2 they may be readily sent by mail or express;-

station agents or initially of I 7 It is intended ethatthe station agent er other ofiicer be provided with a stamping tool or press which-may be utilized in press;

ing on the'seal the name of the station and the name of thejroad and as this may be readily accomplished in the ticket or freight oflice there will not bethe same danger-of unauthorized use of the press such as. now

frequently occurs where theisealing tool is carried-outside martmfifloifi' the purpose of applying the ordinarg After the seal mas? eenfiimpressed or ,otherwise .marked, it is simply passed through the opening a of the usual locking pin 6 and then is bent into angular form, the strip being weakened'atthe points 11 so that it may be readily'bentby the hands alone and it will' not be necessary even to remove the gloves in attaching a seal; The seal may be of triangular form %own in Fig. l or may be bent "into" a rectangle or other form-as illustrated in Figifi, but in any case it willbe impossible to remove the seal from position without first bending back at least one of the. arms of the strip. In order to prevent this movement to un.- sealing position without detection the metal ofwlnch the stripis formed is ofsueh material as to break off at the bending point as seals to the cars.

soon as the slightest.- attempt is made at rebending. and the weakening of the metalby the formation of the notches 11 insures such breakage.

.In some instances the notch "may be formed across one face of the stripes shown in Figs. 3 and 4 but the result in this casewill be the same, "it being the intent to Weaken the strip at the bending points so 1-10 .and at the same time to positively insure as to facilitate'the attachment ofthe seal breakage should -there be any attempt to unpositively seal the body of the strip is heavy enough and of sufficient rigidity to prevent bending at any intermediate point tection.

in an attempt .to open the car without def 'In- ,the construction shown in. Fig. 6 the notches llare fornifedatthe opposite edges of the strip for the purpose of forming the "weakened j bendin 16' oint.

When-the seal 1s ."rii' position it is not subjected to any strain whateverexeept the jolting of the car during switching and there will'be little or 'no danger. of accidental detachment of the seal while the two faces of the seal standout siightly from the side of the bar and will permit ready inspection- "of a line of cars passing a given=poi-nt and r at the same time the markings on theisea'l will be readily distinguishable. 1

is claimed is 1 an angular loop and Having thus described the 1. A metallic' sealing stripQg bendable at predetermined points into triangular shape,

there being means at said points to insure I breaking of the strip when Qsubseguently bent in the opposite direction, sai

.stri

when bent having non-lapping terl ninals.. 2. A metallic sealing strip mate form of avingineansat each bend in the strip to insure breaking of the invention what v strip at said bends when the loop is opened,

said loop having non-lapping terminals.

13. A car seal comprising a strip composed of three sections of'the same .width connected. together by'weakened portions, one of the end sections being. bent backwardly over and spaced from the central section and the otherend section being bent backwardly over and in engagement with the first'mentioned'end section for closing the seal, said end sections being held in bent position by the rigidity of the material forming the strip.

I 4. A car seal comprising a single piece of metal in strip form and formed with a body portion and terminal members, one member being bent over' the body portion and spaced therefrom and'the other member bent backwardly over and in contact with the first member, there being aweakened point at the juncture between the member and body portion for insurings'e'v'erance'of the second member upon opening the. seal. 

